The process of looking for pre-bonsai can differ from person to person depending on one’s interest in growing bonsai. You can select trees that give you an opportunity to work on skills you want to improve, or buy a tree with great potential that requires a significant amount time to develop. In either case, the […]
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Viewing bonsai in the right light
One of the benefits of viewing bonsai in natural light is that the light changes throughout the day. When the light is direct, you might catch dramatic shadows that highlight select details. When the light is filtered or indirect, trees can take on a glow that can bring out the color of the foliage or […]
Shohin olive ground-layer
About a year ago I received a small olive with an unusual feature – the lower part of the trunk didn’t seem to be alive. The tree continued to grow, but slowly. An even bigger problem was that the trunk swelled a couple of inches above the roots making the tree a poor candidate for […]
How to judge a bonsai show – highlights from the Minnesota State Fair
Last weekend I had the opportunity to judge the Minnesota Bonsai Society’s annual show held at the state fair. An amazing crowd of 225,000 people attended the fair that day, and many of them lined up to see the bonsai on display, a club tradition dating back to 1975. For those who are curious about […]
Timeline for preparing bonsai for exhibit
Years ago, I remember pulling trees off the bench for their final prep ahead of a Bay Island Bonsai exhibit when I started thinking about what trees I’d show the following year. We had a rule in the club that we couldn’t show the same tree two years in a row so the planning typically […]